SIGN UP

Create an Inhabitat account

Sign up for weekly newsletter

I agree to receive emails from the site. I can withdraw my consent at any time by unsubscribing.

I agree to Ecouterre's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to the use of cookies described therein, and I also consent to the collection, storage, and processing of my data in the United States, where data protection laws may be different from those in my country.

Get the free Ecouterre Newsletter

PETA Gives TOMS “Compassionate Business” Award

With its prodigal use of leather and suede, TOMS isn’t your typical People for Ethical Treatment of Animals–approved retailer. Yet the shoe—and bag, and sunglass, and coffee—purveyor managed to snag the animal-rights group’s annual Compassionate Business Award, thanks to the former’s ever-expanding selection of cruelty-free merchandise. “PETA is recognizing TOMS for creating beautiful cruelty-free items that demonstrate that a reliance on animal leather is becoming a thing of the past,” Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, said in a statement. “TOMS vegan shoes prove how easy it is to stay on trend while protecting animals and the environment.”

DON’T HAVE A COW

Cows that are killed for their leather endure the same abuses as their counterparts in the meat industry, including dehorning, castration, and branding—”all without painkillers,” Newkirk said.

“Animal agriculture is a major producer of the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change and, according to the United Nations, is ‘a top contributor to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global,'” she added.